Noah drove away. “Your name-Kincaid. Jack worked down here, didn’t he? Against the cartels.”
“He specialized in hostage rescue. And he hasn’t lived here in years.”
“To be on the safe side, I didn’t think we should give our boy Leo too much information about you. Rick said that after what happened in June when you took down Nicole Rollins, Tobias Hunt, and the rest of their network, a lot of nasty people became very angry.”
“I didn’t take them down single-handed.”
“No. You, Jack, Sean, your future brother-in-law Kane.”
“And the entire San Antonio FBI and DEA offices.”
“Right now, considering what we’re working on and how it may be connected to human trafficking and possibly the cartels, we need to be cautious.” He got on the phone, but it wasn’t until he started talking that Lucy realized he’d called Rick Stockton directly.
“Rick, Noah. I’m here with Lucy and going to put you on speaker.” He put the phone down and said, “Jasmine. Know the name?”
“Yes.”
“A last name?”
“No-but if it’s Jasmine in Texas connected to something illegal, I know who you’re talking about.”
“Have a photo?”
“She’s never been photographed. We know that she’s in her late forties and the illegitimate daughter of a drug runner-but we don’t know which one. Word is she is friendly with her family south of the border, but does mostly her own thing. DEA would know more, she’s never seriously been on our radar.”
“The blond woman in the photos I sent you last night-we think she’s Jasmine. I need more. A last name. Last known address. Something to follow up on.”
“I’ll dig.” He hung up.
Noah typed into his GPS. “It’s faster to go straight to San Antonio from here. We’ll be back before five. The office will thank me-I’ve been neglecting paperwork for the last two days.”
Before he could set his GPS to give him directions, his phone rang again.
“Armstrong.” He listened for several minutes. “We’ll be there in less than two hours.” He hung up and glanced at Lucy. “Dead girl at the morgue in Laredo. She recently gave birth.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The resort where Carson Spade had stayed for two nights was one of the best in the region. Acapulco was a tourist city, and as such security was tight; as long as tourists stayed in town, they were relatively safe. Any tourist area had to worry about pickpockets and thieves, but leaving the city could be extremely dangerous.
“Nicco is expecting us.”
“Who?” Sean asked.
“Head of security. He pulled tapes for us.”
Sean didn’t always know how Kane did what he did. For example, there was a jeep waiting for them at the small airport where they landed. Two young men were also waiting, and Kane slipped them money to guard the plane. He didn’t want to land at a government-run airport for fear of tripping a security net-the government might search or detain them. Plus, as Kane had warned Sean earlier, having the name Rogan was dangerous in certain areas. The Mexican government had made great strides in stemming police corruption, but it was still a problem and the government itself wasn’t squeaky clean. What government was? There was always someone easily bought. That could benefit Kane-or get him killed. That Sean looked like a younger, taller version of Kane didn’t help. The luxury resort was on the south side of Puerto Marquez Bay, out of the main Acapulco area, but more expensive than most of the resorts in the region.
“Why didn’t she come with him?” Kane asked as he drove onto the resort grounds.
“She said she runs an antiques business in LA. Didn’t want to take the time off.”
“You believe that?”
“I don’t think she would have let her kid go to Mexico with her husband if she suspected he was up to something.”
“Hmm.”
“Which means what?”
“How’s their relationship?”
“She said fine.”
“You didn’t push.”
“The conversation went from awkward to worse when she showed me Jesse’s photo.” He paused. “I should have pushed.”
Sean took another look around. The green, lush foliage; the new, well-maintained structures; the discreet security personnel and cameras. They passed an amazing pool, winding paths, and caught glimpses of an ocean view that would be visible from, it appeared, many of the hotel suites. There were private cabins closer to the shore.
“This place isn’t for fathers and sons,” Kane said. “She’s having marital problems.” Sean had begun to suspect the same… but not in the way Kane thought. Maybe they’d had an argument. Or maybe Carson took Jesse without her permission. She certainly hadn’t wanted Sean and Kane leaving this morning. She either trusted what her husband had told her, or feared for his life. And Jesse’s.
“Did you run her business?”
Sean hesitated. “No.”
Kane glanced at him as he pulled into temporary parking near the lobby. “Get your head in the game, Sean. One mistake, I can overlook. Two? That’s not like you.”
Kane didn’t say anything else, but Sean sensed the disappointment. He hadn’t thought about researching Madison’s business, or asking why she hadn’t traveled with her husband and son. He’d covered the basics, but hadn’t dug around because he was preoccupied with the fact that he had a son.
But Kane was right. Sean had to focus as if this were a common search and rescue, even though it was anything but typical.
Kane didn’t enter through the lobby, but used a side entrance that led directly to the security offices. They were just as luxurious and state-of-the-art as the rest of the resort.
“Rogan!” a voice called as soon as they stepped over the threshold.
Kane cracked half a smile at the short, broad-shouldered man who stood in front of them. “Nicco.” They shook hands warmly. “My brother, Sean. Nicco Guiterrez, one of the good guys.”
“This is Sean? He’s bigger than you.”
“I can still take him down.”
Sean would have argued, but Kane may have wanted to demonstrate, and Sean wasn’t sure he could beat his brother. Kane played dirty.
Nicco chuckled. “Come to my office, I have what you need.”
Nicco’s office was spacious with multiple security screens that duplicated those in the main room. He motioned for Kane and Sean to sit at the conference table. He typed on a keyboard and the lights dimmed and a wall screen appeared showing a frozen image of Carson Spade in the lobby.
“Your subject arrived with his minor son late Thursday evening. We have him checking in at eight-oh-two p.m. He registered under his name, Carson Spade, with his minor son, Jesse Spade. He was scheduled to stay for three nights, until Sunday.”
“When were the reservations made?” Sean asked.
“Same day. I can get the exact time, if you need that.”
“Did he make them?”
“He reserved the suite with the same credit card that he used at check-in.”
“You’re not booked up?”
“Normally, yes. But we always keep a few rooms for VIPs. He’s stayed at resorts owned by Diamond Plus LLC many times, and paid a premium for the privilege. He’s what we call a platinum guest.”
“Were there any other last-minute reservations?”
Nicco glanced from Sean to Kane. “This is getting into my discomfort zone, but for you, Kane, I can say yes. A suite was reserved also at the last minute by a business, Llave de Oro, which also has a platinum membership. Because of the level, we don’t require individual names on reservations. Privacy is a premium well paid for.”
“You wouldn’t share this if you didn’t have more on this business,” Kane said.